tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024178972531580240.post8582774143742386576..comments2018-02-17T23:04:48.867-05:00Comments on TORONTO CATHOLIC WITNESS: Cardinal Gerhard Muller: separating pastoral practice from doctrine is a: "subtle, but serious Christological heresy". Montforthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271015257865053098noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9024178972531580240.post-53508664078093022032014-12-14T22:07:46.385-05:002014-12-14T22:07:46.385-05:00I agree with Cardinal Muller. Pastoral practice sh...I agree with Cardinal Muller. Pastoral practice should closely follow doctrine. I read that Pope Francis is simply trying to integrate the divorced/remarried back into Catholic life. He mentioned several things divorced people can&#39;t do like teach catechism, read at Mass, become god parents. He didn&#39;t seem to be saying this should change, he just gave us examples. But if he were to ask me, I think divorced/remarried often are fully integrated in parish life, and there are numerous ways that they can serve. But reading at Mass would be a scandal. They shouldn&#39;t be godparents until their own marriage is blessed, and no they shouldn&#39;t teach catechism. I am horrified by how many validly married Catholic couples teach catechism and think NOTHING of using artificial birth control. Now, divorced remarried can&#39;t join the Legion of Mary because that is only open to practicing Catholics, who are free to receive the sacraments. However, I had a few people join who were not validly married, and my approach was to tell them they needed to get their situation regularized before they could take the Legion promise, which is taken within six months of joining the Legion. This was a carrot and stick approach. Get your marriage fixed, and you get to do door to door evangelization with the rest of us! They were --under our rules -- not members until they took the promise, and they either had to take the promise within six months or leave the Legion. However, there is another apostolate that did help people in this state enormously, and that is Eucharistic Apostles of the Divine Mercy. We did have one irregularly married wife join the group, and she went through a conversion. She and her husband were living as brother and sister and going to daily Mass, but the pastor ordered them not to receive because of the scandal -- the two of them living together. That&#39;s when the husband decided to fill out annulment papers. Their marriage was blessed by the Church. The Divine Mercy ministry helped the process. Divorced remarried Catholics have also joined Disciples of Jesus and Mary, a formation program in prayer, discernment and discipleship. IN some cases, it took a few years, but God worked miracles so their marriages were eventually blessed. I&#39;ll never forget their happiness once they were free to receive communion again. Before that, they went up to communion with their arms crossed across their chest to receive a blessing. Many times I saw tears coming from their eyes. I agree with the pope that we need to pastorally work to integrate divorced and remarried, but withhold communion so people can be encouraged to regularize their situation. Not all the divorced remarried situations ended so happily. In one case the wife simply divorced the husband. She tried to live as a sister, but this created enormous hostility. He was not willing to let her reintegrate with her faith. <br /><br />It is a danger when parishes allow divorced remarried to receive communion. This occurred a lot in my former diocese. In one case, a divorced/remarried woman allowed to receive communion by the pastor attempted to join the Legion of Mary. Of course, they faithfully told her she couldn&#39;t be a member. She complained to the pastor, he shut the Legion down. The Legion president left the parish to her husband&#39;s chagrin. (He liked the parish), and he divorced the Legion president. The wages of sin are death. Bad example in the parish led to much unhappiness. God bless you. Susan Fox www.christsfaithfulwitness.comLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.com